Cong members stage walkout over Minister 's reply

Bhubaneswar, Mar 13 (UNI) Expressing displeasure over response of Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sanatan Bisi on conditional resignation of doctors across the state, Opposition Congress members today staged a walk-out in the Assembly.

The issue of mass resignation of doctors in the state in support of their 19-point Charter of demands rocked the state assembly during the question hour.

Trouble erupted when Deputy Speaker Prahald Dora asked the Minister to reply to a joint question raised by Mr Rajani Kanta Singh, Mr Anup Kumar Sai and Mr Nrusingh Sahu(All Congress).

The members wanted to know what action the government was planning to take in the wake of the mass resignation of doctors.

The doctors, they said, had submitted their resignations en mass and set March 19 next as the deadline for resolution of the issue.

Among other things, the doctors demanded a raise in their pay scale, creation of promotion avenues, development of infrastructure and providing security to doctors on duty.

In response to a volley of questions raised by the members, the Health Minister only said that the government was examining the demands and would take a decision soon.

At this, Congress Deputy leader Narasingha Mishra stood up and said that the Minister was not replying to any of the question put by the members and asked the Chair to ensure that he got specific reply to his question.

Mr Mishra demanded to know from the minister what were the demands of the doctors, the reaction of the government to them, present pay scale of doctors serving in Orissa and in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that as to whether the state government was planning to enact a law in the lines of Andhra Pradesh to provide security to doctors on duty and what would be the alternative arrangement made by the government to provide medicare facilities to the people in case the negotiations with the doctors failed.

As the Minister said the government was examining the demands, the dissatisifed Congress members, trooped at the well of the House in protest and shouted slogans.

However, the members returned to their seats after Deputy Speaker Prahallad Dora asked the Minister to give a specific reply and requested the agitating members to return to their seats.

The members returned to the House after the discussion on the question was over and participated in the other proceedings UNI BD DP LL DB1534